Sunday, October 30, 2016

Vogue 9061 - Black + metallic turquoise midi-skirt in Carolina Herrera brocade

I ordered 1.5 yards of this gorgeous Carolina Herrera brocade from Mood fabrics a year or so ago without having any plans for what it would become. It's so beautifully vibrant in color, and the concentrations of turquoise over the black reminded me of brushstrokes. It sold out quickly, however, but was priced at $35/yard.


I had enough fabric for a sheath dress but thought that might be a little too formal for my lifestyle, so went with a skirt instead. The pattern is Vogue 9061, a relatively simple fit-and-flare style with inverted pleats and a side zipper. Surprisingly, this pattern is now out of print. (Wow, that was fast! It feels like I just purchased it.) I was planning to make the shorter length but had some left over fabric along the selvages that I had a lightbulb moment over what to do with. It became a midi-skirt instead, with the bottom hem band cut on the cross grain.


Usually with this quality of fabric I make sure to sew up a muslin to test the fit. However, the inverted pleats are the only things forming the waistline, and those are easy enough to adjust. I cut a straight size 12 but did need to let all the pleats out by 1/8".


I like midi-skirts to hit my legs right where the calf starts to curve in towards the knee, which on my body is 27". This pattern is drafted to be 30" long, so I trimmed 1 5/8" off the bottom of the skirt body and 1 3/8" off the hem band.


Dress form pictures:



This pattern does not include a lining. Those aren't difficult to add by any means, but I had to think about what order I needed to sew my seams and how I would deal with inverted pleats on both my outer fabric and my lining. I ended up sewing the side seams and hem band of the brocade first, then hemming it and installing the side zipper. Then I sewed the side seams of the lining together and sewed it invisibly by hand to the zipper opening. I then did the pleating along the top by treating the brocade and the lining as a single layer. When they were pressed open I stitched in the ditch on the outside to secure the pleats from moving around.


The inside waist band is interfaced and slip-stitched to the lining for a smooth finish. It holds the skirt securely to the waist, much like a waist stay does, which is needed with this weight of garment.


The only other thing of note is that I've started stitching the hems of my linings to the outer fabric with an ease pleat, like I do on any lined jacket. I have hemmed those two elements separately for all of my sewing career, but inevitably some threads come unraveled inside the skirt and hang down, needing to be clipped from time to time. This method encases all raw edges and I love it. There is a bit more hand sewing involved to slip-stitch it on, which I really enjoy. I'm weird like that.


I think this will make a great holiday party look as I've styled it here or with boots and a cropped sweater for church. It's definitely a dressy garment. This was a super fun thing to stitch up and all my fabrics behaved themselves nicely. I'll definitely be using this pattern again. (Still can't believe it's OOP already!)

Note: The brocade from this post was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

45 comments:

  1. Incredible fabric and beautiful garment!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks LLBB! I think CH fabrics are my very favorites. They're always so interesting and lux.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful skirt Amanda and you're right: so many ways to wear it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This fabric works so well with this skirt pattern. Just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is a beautiful skirt. I love the hem band with that print.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Cindy! It ended up working really well. I love those eureka moments!

      Delete
  5. This is really lovely. When I first saw the photo I thought the fabric was a cityscape design.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I can see cityscape too. That makes me love it even more. Thanks Sam!

      Delete
  6. Amanda, you are so lovely! Great taste you have, and as a mother of 4, you are incredible in your fashion sense, uniquely yours! Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. STUNNING. the addition of that band is glorious, i love the way the color/texture shifts on the crossgrain hem band, it looks like you used a border print!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Marcy! I'm all about the texture these days!

      Delete
  8. VERY very pretty and classic looking. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous fabric and making a skirt is much more versatile than a dress. Yes, your taste level is fab! Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, you are right about that. I always default to dress, though, because it's such mindless dressing. Just throw on the dress, pick some shoes and jewelry and walk out the door. Thank you Karen!

      Delete
  10. As usual, Amanda, you have created a beautiful garment. It really is stunning, and the inside is so neat! I think you will wear this for a long time in lots of different places.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Beckster! Hopefully midi-skirts won't go out of vogue for awhile yet. ;)

      Delete
  11. Beautiful! I love the cross-grain band on the bottom, and the fabric is simply gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You never do anything that isn't just spot on! This is gorgeous, the pattern choice allows the beauty of the fabric to make the statement. Fabulous!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I do, but those things don't make it onto the blog. Too much to do these days then to dwell on the stuff that doesn't turn out. I chuck it and move on. But thanks! After all these years of sewing I feel like I have a (somewhat) good handle on what fabrics will work for what project.

      Delete
  13. great use of that fabric, lovely. And I like doing the hand stitching too! very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you do! It's fun that there's other crazies out there like me!! You just mentioned how you like to grade seams in your last post and I was nodding along while reading it LOL. Thanks Beth!

      Delete
  14. BEAUTIFUL!! I enjoy slipstitching, and am weird like that too, lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! Weird hand stitching lovers united!! It's relaxing though, right? More so then using the machine to me. I have more control maybe. Anyway, thanks Vanessa!

      Delete
  15. Love the style on you. Like Sam I thought it was a city scape with the band being water.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love. Love. LOVE!!! It is so pretty.

    I used to loathe hand sewing but now that I really know what I'm doing, I love it. And it's something I can sit on the couch and do or do in bed if I wake up very early.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks KS! I like to hand sew when I've got a movie on or something. Also I NEVER wake up early LOL. Maybe that will happen later when I don't have to be up at 6 every morning except Saturday.

      Delete
  17. Beautiful skirt and such a gorgeous fabric! I love the colors of the fabric and how versatile this skirt is.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This skirt looks gorgeous on you. The length is simply perfekt. It looks so ladylike. I adore it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Enri! I'll take ladylike as long as it's not geriatric. Haha.

      Delete
  19. What a gorgeous skirt! So many ways that it could be styled. You're definitely ready for the holiday season.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love that skirt. Classy and vibrant. The fabric makes it! the inside looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have two cuts of Carolina Herrera brocade that I have yet to sew. I'm actually glad I haven't because the clothes I would have made from them wouldn't fit me today! Maybe a skirt is just the ticket. I haven't tried a midi style either. How tall are you again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I wonder what you have.. I do love her fabrics. They don't tend to sell out too quickly on Mood's site so I've had a number of them in wish lists forever. If you made this type of skirt you could take it in or let it out with minimal effort. And I'm 5'6", but I think you're taller, and this style might totally work. You just have to get the scale right. Too long and it looks a little old fashioned IMO. Too short and it's grandma covering her knees.

      Delete
  22. Hi. What a beautiful skirt! I am a beginner sewer and have this pattern cut out. I can't figure out how to do the pleats – it says to sew front and back together, but then it says to do this later on. Can you advise? Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete